This invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for monitoring patients.
Conventionally, the monitoring of a patient such as in an intensive care unit of a hospital has required vigilant surveillance by one or more nurses. More recently, monitoring means have been utilized in the form of electrical monitoring and recording devices which are connected to the patient by suitable electrical wires. During surgical operations and during their stay in the ICU (Intensive Care Unit), patients are attached by cables to the monitoring or treatment equipment. Cabling, however, complicates the treatment process in many ways; for instance, cables obstruct nursing procedures and complicate transfers, as they have to be attached and detached. Such conventional devices have required that the patient's bed be made electrically shockproof. The use of such wiring limits the mobility of the patient and conventionally has required that the patient remain in the shockproof bed. Because of the high cost of the equipment and the installation, the use thereof has been primarily limited to intensive care units of hospitals and, thus, such monitoring has not been readily available in connection with less serious patient problems.